Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Filipino artist Fritz Casas on Dynamite Comics’ Blood Queen

Filipino artist Fritz
Casas on Dynamite Comics’ Blood Queen

by rick olivares

American comic book publisher Dynamite recently
released Blood Queen #1 that features the artwork of Filipino Fritz Casas.

Blood Queen is sword and sorcery tale inspired the
notorious Hungarian Countess Elizabeth Bathory de Ecsed who is known as one of
the most prolific female serial killers in history as she was alleged to have
drank and bathed in the blood of the hundreds of girls she tortured and killed
in the 16th century in order to keep her youth.

Blood Queen, as written by
Tom Brownsfield, begins with the
heartbreaking plight of a royal child, teetering between life and death.
Summoned to save the princess, a young woman of untold power begins a journey
that will uncover secrets, reveal forbidden desires, and stoke the fires of
war.

Providing art chores is Casas who has done a lot of
Dynamite’s titles in recent years by illustrating Dragonsbane, Miss Fury, and
Queen Sonja. Casas has made a name for himself by drawing gorgeous and
beautiful women.

During a recent signing for Blood Queen #1 at Comic
Odyssey at Fullybooked in Promenade, Greenhills, Casas admitted to being unsure
about attending the signing.

“I am not a household name unlike other Filipino
artists like Leinil Yu, Gerry Alanguilan, Arnold Arre or Kajo Baldisimo,”
confided Casas. “I hardly even attend comic books events as I prefer to stay
home with my family.”

“When Sandy Sansolis of Comic Odyssey asked me if we
could do a signing, I was nervous,” he added. “The few times I went to an
event, I was at ease if I was with a group of other artists. But a solo
signing? Would people even come? Will they even buy the book?”

Sansolis ordered a couple of dozen copies of the
issue that instantly sold out (as compared to the hundreds of copies he orders
for the more popular titles). “The popularity of Indie comics are hard to
predict,” said the Comic Odyssey head honcho. “If they are good, they spread by
word of mouth and it is usually by the second or third issue where you can make
adjustments in ordering. But the nice thing about having a Filipino artist in
American comics is there is a market for them.”

Casas, who grew up in Bulan, Sorsogon, didn’t even
know there was a whole new four-colored world out there for comic books. His
only exposure to the medium while growing up in the province was the local fare
that his mother read.

“When I saw the local komiks, I was hooked,” recalled
Casas of that time that made such a huge impact on his dreams. “I knew then
what I wanted to do.”

Moving to Manila for his secondary and tertiary
education, he got exposed to American comics and its heavy superhero fare. “All
the more I wanted to become a comic book artist,” noted Casas.

The first ever comic book he purchased with his own
money was the first issue that Uncanny X-Men issue that Whilce Portacio drew.
“By then he had done X-Factor and word spread that he was Filipino. I saved my
money to buy that and holding that copy in my hands blew me away.”

From Portacio, Casas soon discovered other noted
artists of the 1990s from Jim Lee to Todd McFarlane to Marc Silvestri and more.

He honed his craft while working as a visualizer in
an ad agency and eventually began to post his work online drawing the interest
of American agents.

One agent first saw his work where he sketched the
popular video game, Electronic Arts’ Medal of Honor. Casas was asked to submit
sequential art but he didn’t comply.

“I wasn’t ready,” he confessed. “I had not done any
sequential art. Storytelling was something I had to learn.”

When a second agent asked him a year later, Casas was
ready. And soon he began to illustrate books from Dynamite and the rest is
history.

For the Blood Queen, Casas has submitted four issues
worth of art and is currently finishing his fifth issue.

“I work from full scripts,” he said of the process
with Brownsfield. “Sometimes, if I feel I can tweak something, I ask permission
to do so. Luckily, he is a nice person who is very accommodating and he allows
it. As I learn this craft, right now, I am at ease working from full scripts.”

“My plan is to also put out my own local komiks next
year,” he revealed. “Something with historical undertones with a bit of sci-fi.”